Patna: After a two-day hectic negotiations, the Grand Alliance leaders in Bihar failed to finalise the constitutencies allotted to them. Angered over the rough deal to HAM(S), the former chief minister, Jeetan Ram Manjhi left the talks mid-way and retured to Patna on Thursday evening.
Leaders of the Bihar Congress, Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S), Vikasshil Insan Party (VIP), RLD, RJD, SP, in a meeting in New Delhi failed to reach a deal on seat-sharing for the Lok Sabha election. Meanwhile, Tejashwi Yadav, the party leader and son of the RJD president Lalu Prasad, said Lalu would finally decide the constitutencies allotted to the alliance partners on Saturday in his prison ward in Ranchi.
Manjhi will also convene a party meeting in Patna on Sunday. Notably, Manjhi wanted three seats, but the RJD was willing to offer him one. Manjhi demanded Jamui constitutency, but was turned down by Tejashwi who told the former CM, the RJD would field its candidate from Jamui against the LJP parliamentary board chairman Chirag Paswan.
But, the Congress is also unhappy, as it is being offered 11 seats against its demand for 13 constitutencies. Madan Mohan Jha, the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee president said the talks would continue till the last date of nominations. The election committee of PCC will meet here on Saturday to send recommendations to the central election committee. Also, VIP chief Mukesh Sahani refused to file his paper from Darbhanga seat, as his party was denied seats of his choice.
Pappu Yadav, the sitting MP from Madhepura, who wanted to contest from his old constituency on Congress ticket, also expressed his anguish on Thursday, saying Sharad Yadav should be denied a ticket from Madhepura. He declared he would contest from Madhepura and Purnia both.
Meanwhile, the EC started a probe into the use of twitter accounts of Lalu, who has been in judicial custody at Ranchi. As per rules, a prisoner cannot use a phone. Sanjay Kumar Singh, additional chief election officer, said a team of IT experts have been formed to investigate how Lalu was using his tweeters, who is handling his accounts or if he is sending messages from jail.
